


Love's Bounty

by EmmaTheRevelator (BadWolf1988)



Category: Original Work
Genre: Adoption, Bounty Hunters, F/M, Family, Fluff, Humor, Inspired by Fanfiction, Romance, mafia
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-10-13
Updated: 2018-03-02
Packaged: 2018-08-22 05:42:13
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 13
Words: 9,791
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8274859
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BadWolf1988/pseuds/EmmaTheRevelator
Summary: This is the original re-telling of my VERY old Leland Chapman fic, Dog's Miracle Worker. I hope you enjoy and as a warning...this story will be taken down upon completion if I am pleased with it for publication.





	1. Bonnie

**Author's Note:**

> Author's Note: Here it is. The promised original re-write of Dog's Miracle Worker. Yes, the family in this story is based on the Chapman family of bounty hunters for those who didn't read the fanfiction version. God, it is so weird not having to write a disclaimer before posting a story...and it also feels kind of good. I hope you all enjoy.

The Wolf Pack Bail Bond Agency

Pittsfield, Massachusetts

 

It was a slow morning at the office for the Carter family. No one needed bailing out of jail and so far, only one person had jumped bond; the Carter boys had managed to recapture the suspect in under two hours. Bonnie Carter considered this a miracle. Pittsfield may not be the largest city in Massachusetts but it had plenty of crime. The local populace was vastly undereducated, homelessness ran rampant, jobs were scarce, and the town was one of the top ten in the country for drug abuse. That had been the reason that Bonnie and her husband Dawson "Wolf" Carter had set up shop in the town nearly thirty years earlier. Someone was always in need of bailing out.

So far that day all she had done was catch up on paperwork and watch her sons, Langdon and Dawson, Jr. play practical jokes on each other while their sister Lacey watched torn between amusement and exasperation. Bonnie was silently grateful that the television cameras that recorded the family's business exploits were not in the office that day as she watched Dawson stuff a potato (she didn't even want to know where he had gotten that) into the tailpipe of his younger brother's Mustang. The family was filmed a few days each week for a popular reality show called The Wolf Pack. Basically, cameras followed their every move while they were at work and the best footage made it onto the show. The show had been going strong for eight seasons and had increased the family's business ten-fold. Every criminal in the Berkshires wanted to be bailed out by the family that not only helped criminals get out of jail but also helped them improve their lives. The Carter family was famous for treating criminals, even those who jumped bond, with care and respect. If you needed a good talking to to realize the errors of your ways, Wolf would happily provide it. If you needed rehab to kick a drug habit but couldn't afford it, Bonnie got you to rehab no questions asked. If you just needed a friend, any member of the family was happy to listen. If you jumped bond and had been on the run for days unable to sleep or eat, they made sure you had something in your stomach before returning you to jail. They didn't have a lot of repeat customers and that was the way they liked it. They were all born and raised in the area and wanted nothing more than to help clean up their hometown because the government sure wasn't doing a whole lot to help.

Her musings were interrupted by the ringing of the telephone that sat on her desk.

"The Wolf Pack Bail Bonds," She answered.

"Hello, I was wondering if I could speak with Wolf or Bonnie Carter please?" A soft, girlish voice spoke on the other end of the line.

"This is Bonnie. May I ask what this is concerning?"

"Yes, I read an ad on your website about the Wolf Pack Miracle Workers Award and I wanted to know if it was too late to make a nomination?"

The Wolf Pack Miracle Workers Award was the brainchild of Wolf. It was a yearly award for people who had overcome hardships and struggles in their lives to make a positive impact on the world around them. This was something that meant a lot to her husband. Wolf hadn't always been on the right side of the law. In his teens and early twenties he had been a professional car thief. When he was twenty-four and Dawson was a toddler and Langdon still just an infant, Wolf had been busted during a raid on a local chop shop and been sent to prison for five years. It was only after missing a lot of his two oldest children's childhoods that he had decided to turn his life around. That was why they did what they did. Wolf hated seeing young people going down the path that he himself had once traveled.

"No, it sure isn't. The deadline for nominations is tomorrow. You do know this is a local award right? It's for Berkshire county residents only and you will have to come and make a presentation explaining why you think your nominee should win." Bonnie explained.

"Yes ma'am, I know."

"Can you come by the office this afternoon at three o' clock?"

"Yeah, I think I can get my mom to give me a ride."

Realizing that the person she was talking to was just a kid, Bonnie had to smile. "Alright kiddo, what's your name?"

"Carly Cortez,"

"Alright Carly, we will see you at three."

Hanging up the phone, Bonnie went to the front door and yelled out to her boys and husband, who was sneaking a cigarette thinking she wouldn't notice.

"You three get in here! Dawson, get that potato out of your brother's tailpipe or you are paying for the repairs and Wolf put out that damn cigarette!"

Sitting back at her desk, she waited as her family, minus Lacey who was actually still at her desk working shuffled guiltily in the door and took seats at their desks to listen.

"Okay, guys I know that I promised you all an early day but I'm going to need you all in the office at three," Bonnie said, standing up with a stack of folders and walking to the filing cabinet.

"Why?" Langdon asked as he started flicking rubber bands in Dawson's general direction.

Sometimes it was hard to believe that both Dawson and Langdon were fathers and responsible for other human beings but they were good boys...when they weren't messing around. Langdon took after her with blue eyes and blond hair that he kept long and tied back. His muscular arms, back, and chest were covered in tattoos. He loved them and thought they were works of art. Bonnie thought he was running out of skin. Dawson, with his short brown hair, brown eyes and bulky build took after his father.

"We have another nominee for daddy's award," Bonnie replied.

"Please, not another teacher that taught a kid to read," Dawson whined. "I'm pretty sure that's not what Pops had in mind when he put this award together...and isn't that a teacher's job anyway? Why do the teachers in this city think they deserve awards for doing what they are paid and trained to do?"

That was the million dollar question and probably the reason the educational system in Pittsfield sucked. Two teachers had actually attempted to nominate themselves.

"That is definitely not what I had in mind," Wolf agreed, leaning back in his chair. The years of chasing criminals clearly showed in the age lines on his face and the gray hair that now streaked his famous crew-cut. His brown eyes were tired and the only hint of the youth he had once been were the faded gang tattoos that covered his arms. "What I want is someone who has experienced something horrible but wasn't broken by it. Someone who has taken what happened to them and turned it into something great."

"Well, maybe you'll get lucky with this afternoon's nominee." Bonnie gave her husband a pat on the back.


	2. Langdon

The family had just arrived back at the office after our second capture of the day...a drug addicted moron who had missed the first day of his trial on weapons charges. We caught him after only an hour of searching. The dude was hiding out at his mom's house...like we wouldn't think to look for him there.

I was taking off my gear when a young girl who couldn't have been more than fifteen walked in carrying a messenger bag.

She approached me and blushed. "Um...excuse me, my name is Claire Cortez. I'm here about the Wolf Pack's Miracle Workers award nomination."

So, this was the girl that mom had been talking about earlier. I really hoped that her nominee was worth our time. I was sick of listening to useless nominations.

I smiled at Claire and she blushed even redder. "Are you here to make a nomination?" I asked although I already knew the answer.

Claire looked at her feet. "Yes, sir,"

"Hey, hey, hey – the name's Langdon and everyone should be waiting for you in the back office, come on," I led the adorably shy teenager into the large office that we used for meetings.

Mom, Dad, Dawson, and Lacey were seated at the table waiting.

Dad stood as we entered. "You must be Claire," He smiled warmly. "I'm Wolf, this is my wife Bonnie, our son Dawson, and our daughter Lacey," He introduced everyone.

"Nice to meet you all," Claire smiled.

"So, sister, you ready to tell us about your nominee?" Mom asked.

She looked tired and like she just wanted to get this over with. On our last bounty, she had broken two of her perfectly manicured nails banging on the suspect's door. Her blonde hair looked a mess and you could tell that she made a trip to the bathroom to scrub her makeup off after it had smudged during our short chase after the guy. All-in-all she wasn't happy. I always think that it's funny that most perps are scared of me, Dad, and Dawson when the person they really needed to fear was my five-foot tall, 110 lb mother.

"Yep," Claire said as she placed her bag on the table and pulled out a laptop and photo album.

"So, what's your nominee's name?" Mom asked.

"Jamie-Lynn Cortez," Claire replied as she booted up her computer.

I know I've heard that name before...

"Jamie-Lynn Cortez...the pop star?" Lacey asked.

Ahh, now I remember where I've heard that name before. Lacey plays her music all of the time. She has a pretty nice voice.

"Sister, you know you have to actually know your nominee, right?" Mom asked with a tired sigh.

"I do know her...she's my aunt and she lives here in the Berkshires. She lives in Williamstown. I know that you probably aren't looking for a celebrity to give this award to but please hear me out. Aunt Jamie would kill me if she knew that I was here doing this." Claire pleaded.

I smiled. The kid was sweet and obviously loved her aunt to death.

"Well, we wouldn't want you to have risked your life for nothing. Show us what you've got," I told her encouragingly.

"Thanks," Claire said as she pulled up a photograph on her computer.

I am lucky that I was born with amazing self-control or my jaw would have hit the floor. On the screen was a picture of a beautiful woman with long, wavy strawberry-blonde hair, big caramel colored eyes, a rather large bust – hey, he was still a guy – and dimples that were incredibly sexy.

Dear God, if You like me, she will be single and into bounty hunters with long hair and tattoos.

"My Aunt Jamie may be famous but she has worked really hard for everything that she has. She's been through more than anyone should have to go through." Claire began speaking as Dawson lightly smacked me in the back of the head to get me to pay attention to her and not the photograph. "When she was thirteen she was discovered by record executive while singing the National Anthem at a Pittsfield Suns baseball game. Six months later, she released her first single and it went directly to number one on the charts as did all of the singles off of her first album. Everything was going great until she was fifteen. That year her mom, my grandma, was diagnosed with terminal bladder cancer and given less than a year to live..."

"Sweetheart, that's horrible, but it happens to a lot of people. Death is a part of life." Dad interrupted.

Claire shook her head, "I know but this story gets a lot worse before it gets better. Can I please finish?"

"Go ahead," Mom nodded, shooting Dad a look to tell him to shut up.

"Anyway," Claire continued. "When Aunt Jamie found out that my grandma was sick she put her career on hold. She stayed by grandma's side day and night and grandma held on for another year but when Aunt Jamie was seventeen she was admitted to the hospital for the final time. One night Aunt Jamie wasn't feeling well so her dad sent her home from the hospital to get some rest. She was home alone getting ready for bed when she heard a noise and went downstairs to see if her dad was home. He wasn't. It was..." She stopped and took a deep breath. "Sorry, this is hard to talk about."

"It's okay, take your time," Mom stood and went and held the girl's hand.

Suddenly, I wasn't so sure that I wanted to hear the rest of the story. Something very bad must have happened to Jamie-Lynn if simply telling the story affected Claire this badly.

Claire seemed to steel herself and continued. "It was Alexander Loveitt...she was his first victim."

I should have fucking killed that mother fucker when I had him!

Alexander Loveitt was a notorious serial rapist who spent over five years terrorizing the women of Berkshire County. When he was finally caught in 2006 he had fled to Mexico with the aid of his wealthy mother. He was convicted in absentia on 107 counts of felony rape and sentenced to over a thousand years behind bars.

Dad, Dawson, and I decided to find the son of a bitch and bring him back to face justice even though Loveitt was not on bond with us when he had fled. We spent two months in Mexico hunting him before we located him at a fish taco stand of all places.

We arrested him but soon found ourselves in jail. We had been working with the aid of a Mexican police officer but we later found out that he was a dirty cop on the take. Bounty hunting was illegal in Mexico and instead of telling us that, this cop used us to find Loveitt and then placed all four of us under arrest. He wanted to claim the twenty million dollar reward for Loveitt's capture for himself. We never saw a dime and it took us almost a decade to sort out the charges against us.

"When was Loveitt charged with her rape?" I asked.

For some reason, I was pissed. I wasn't this upset about his other victims. Sure, I was angry but at that moment I wanted to kill the bastard.

"When you guys caught him in Mexico the detective in charge of Aunt Jamie's case took a chance and asked her if he could run a DNA test on her son."

Hold the fucking phone...WHAT?!

"Her son?" Dawson asked as everyone collectively gasped.

"Yeah, two months after the rape Aunt Jamie found out that she was pregnant. She was a virgin when she was raped so the baby..."

"Had to be her rapists," I whispered.

That poor woman.

"I can't believe she kept the baby." My dad sounded a little bit in awe.

"I asked her why she did once and her answer made me respect her even more," Claire replied.

"What did she say?" Lacey asked.

"She said that her son was a part of her too, not just Loveitt and that what happened wasn't his fault. She said that from the moment she found out she was pregnant she loved her son more than her life so she couldn' think of taking his," Claire explained and I felt myself tearing up a bit although I would never admit it. "When everyone found out that Jamie-Lynn was pregnant they thought that she would lose it but the baby gave her a reason to live. Her mom died three days before she gave birth and instead of breaking down, she pushed on. She gave her son my grandma's maiden name as a first name."

"What's his name?" I honestly wanted to learn all that I could about the amazing woman she was describing.

Claire smirked a little, "His name is Langdon,"

She picked up the photo album that she had taken out earlier and flipped through it until she found the page she was looking for handed it to me. I took the album and stared at a picture of Jamie-Lynn who was standing with one arm around a boy who looked to be about ten and had the same hair, eyes, and dimples as his mom...thank God he hadn't come out looking like the rat faced bastard who had sired him. Jamie-Lynn was holding another little boy who looked to be about two with jet-black hair and brown eyes. Both boys were adorable.

"Who's the other little guy?" I asked passing the album around.

"That's Jack, her other son." Claire smiled.

"Oh, she's married?"

Damn! Somebody already snatched her up! What the hell is wrong with me? I ain't even met the woman!

"No, she adopted Jack when one of her backup dancers got pregnant and didn't want to keep the baby. Aunt Jamie's still single,"

Thank God! She's single!

Mom shot me a look telling me she knew what I was thinking.

"Your aunt sounds like an amazing person," My dad smiled.

"She is. She didn't let what Loveitt did to her break her. She went back to work and with some of her earnings she set up programs here in the Berkshires. One that helps victims of rape learn to cope and one that helps single mothers get on their feet. I know right now, her charity is working on building a home for teenage mothers. She really is my hero." Claire finished her presentation.

"Well, your aunt is certainly in the running to win," I told her.

"Yeah, why don't you head home and we will call you when we know who the winner is?" Mom said while helping Claire pack up her things before leading her out of the office.

"We have a winner," I said once Claire was out of earshot.

"You think?" Dawson asked sarcastically.


	3. Jamie-Lynn

"Langdon!" I yelled after walking into the disaster zone that was my son's bedroom. I had nearly broken my neck tripping over a Green Arrow action figure. It was such a mess that I was tempted to call in FEMA.

"What?!" Came my ten-year-old's reply from somewhere downstairs.

"Get up here, right now!" I yelled.

I heard his footsteps coming up the stairs and was soon greeted with the sight of my moody son. Oh, the joys of the pre-teen years.

"Did I or did I not tell you to pick this room up four hours ago?" I asked with my hands on my hips – the universal sign of annoyed moms the world over.

"But, Mom, there's a Wolf Pack marathon on," He whined as he crossed his arms over his chest.

I screwed up my face, "What is the Wolf Pack?" I have never heard of it. Was it some kind of new superhero show?

Langdon's face lit up like a Christmas tree, "It's a reality show the follows the lives of a family of bounty hunters and it's shot here in the Berkshires. The dad's name is Wolf. There is even this really cool guy on the show, Wolf's son, who has my name!" He babbled. "I watched it with Claire when she spent the night last weekend."

A weakness, a mother's ultimate weapon. "I will make you a deal. You clean this room right now and I will DVR the rest of the marathon. If you don't clean this room, I'm unplugging the TV for the next week," I bargained.

Ha! It worked! Langdon started running around cleaning his room with a speed to make the Flash proud.

I chuckled to myself and walked downstairs to the living room to program the DVR. As I was heading towards the kitchen to start on dinner the phone started ringing. Before I got the chance to answer it, however, I heard the voice of my two-year-old calling me from upstairs.

"Mama, I up!"

I bypassed the phone and headed back up the stairs to retrieve Jack from his bed where he had been taking his afternoon nap.


	4. Langdon

I watched as my mom left a message on Jamie-Lynn's voicemail with a disappointed feeling in the pit of my stomach because she had not answered. It's not like I was going to be speaking to her but I was anxious to know when I would get the chance to meet the woman who had been on my mind for the past two weeks. It was actually getting pretty bad. I was sporting a black eye from our latest bounty. I had let my mind wander and ended up getting popped in the face by a heroin addict. Needless to say, my dad was pretty pissed.

"I'll try to call her again tomorrow," Mom said, getting up from her desk.

"Okay," I heaved a sigh.

"Langdon, pouting does not look good on you, son." She chuckled as she left the room.

If you hadn't picked up on it yet we had chosen Jamie-Lynn as our winner. There really was no competition. We had called Claire and she had informed us that her aunt was recently back in town after completing her summer tour. Apparently, she didn't tour during the rest of the year so she could stay home while her oldest son was in school. When she did tour her kids went with her. From everything I had learned about her, she sounded like a devoted mother.

"Hey, Langdon, get in her, boy!" My dad called from the front office.

I walked out front to see my entire family gathered around the flat-screen television that was mounted on the wall. One it was an entertainment news program and a photograph of Jamie-Lynn was up next to the host's head.

I stopped and listened.

"After a blockbuster summer tour that broke sales records, pop sensation Jamie-Lynn Cortez is back home in New England. If you didn't catch her on tour this year, you still have one more chance to see her live. Jamie-Lynn will be headlining one final concert in Boston at Brighton Music Hall, to be broadcast live on HBO, this coming Saturday night...but hurry, tickets are going fast. And even more good news for Jamie-Lynn fans – her new album Raindrops is out this Thursday and we have a clip from her new music video for the first single off the album, Shallow.

The screen faded to black before the clip started and an up-tempo song started to play. The music video wasn't high scale. It was just Jamie-Lynn on a rotating stage wearing worn low-cut jeans and a tight white tank top. She was singing about materialistic, shallow celebrities. It was a pretty good song but I was more focused on Jamie-Lynn. As the video clip ended I was more determined than ever to meet this woman. Not in an obsessed stalker sort of way, but in a this girl is something special and she was brought into my life for a reason sort of way.


	5. Jamie-Lynn

I was exhausted. I had just put my sons to bed and settled on the couch with a glass of wine. Being a single mother sucked sometimes. Don't get me wrong. I love my boys more than anything else on this earth. I would die for them but being the only adult in the house could be tiresome – and believe it or not – lonely. There was only so much Green Arrow and Spongebob Squarepants I could take before I started craving the company of other grown-ups.

It was the silent times – like now – when the boys were fast asleep that I really desired a life partner to help me raise them. A man to hold me at night when the house was dark and the shadows all seemed to come alive and remind me of that night...and him. But I was starting to highly doubt that I would ever get what I wanted.

Shaking my head, I pushed all thoughts of my loneliness aside and turned on the TV. I wanted to check out that show that Langdon seemed to be so in love with.

Two hours and four episodes later, I shut the TV off. Wow! Was in possible to fall in love with a guy after only ever seeing him on TV? At the very least what I was experiencing lust at first sight. The blue-eyed blond known as Langdon Carter was truly something else. His hair was long and always pulled back in a ponytail. His arms were covered in tattoos. I never thought that I would be attracted to a man with tattoos covering what looked to be 90% of his body but the ones that Langdon had were really working for me. It wasn't just his looks that drew me to him. The way he took down fugitives proved that he was all man. He wasn't one of those Hollywood Metrosexuals that spent more time on his appearance than a woman.

I softly laughed at my own silliness as I grabbed the cordless phone off of the table next to the couch and checked my voicemail. There was a message from my sister-in-law, Darlene, asking if I would be willing to watch my niece, Claire, for a week while she and my brother Jackson went on a European cruise. I made a mental note to call her back and listened to the second message. What I heart nearly made me drop the phone.

“Hi, this is Bonnie Carter from the Wolff Pack Bail Bond Agency. I'm calling to inform you that you have been nominated for and won an award being presented by our company. If you could please call me back at...”

I quickly grabbed the pad that I kept on the coffee table and jotted down the number that Bonnie rattled off. I glanced at the clock on the cable box. It was almost midnight...way too late to call back.

I set the pad on the coffee table so that I would remember to call her back in the morning. Hey, maybe if I was lucky I would get a chance to meet the tatted up hottie that I had been checking out all night.


	6. Jamie-Lynn

The next morning as Langdon and Jack (in a booster seat) sat at the kitchen table eating oatmeal for breakfast, I grabbed the pad with Bonnie Carter's cell phone number on it and returned her call.

“This is Bonnie.” She answered on the fourth ring.

I was nervous and I had no idea why. I gulped, “Hi, this is Jamie-Lynn Cortez. I’m returning your call.”

“Oh, hey there! How are you doing this morning?”

Bonnie seemed kind of friendly which surprised me because she was such a loud mouth on her family’s reality show. I had never heard a woman use some of the language she used with suspects.

“I’m good...but a little confused about this award thing,” I admitted.

I had never heard of this award before.

Bonnie laughed, “The Wolf Pack’s Miracle Worker Award is an award for Berkshire County residents who have overcome adversity and used their experiences to help others.”

Yeah...that didn’t clear up my confusion AT ALL.

“Oh,” Was my intelligent response.

“Listen, would you have some free time on Monday to meet with me and my family? We can discuss the details then.”

I mentally went over my schedule before settling on a time. “Would four be alright?” I asked. “I have rehearsals and studio time the rest of the day,” I explained.

“Works for us,” Bonnie agreed.

I jotted down the Pittsfield area address she gave me before ending the call.

“Momma! I done!” Jake called to me from the table.

I turned back around to find my youngest child’s face covered in so much oatmeal he looked like Freddy Kruger’s son.

“Wonderful,” I sighed.


	7. Jamie-Lynn

“Come on, Jack, please, put your shirt on for Momma.” I pleaded with my two-year-old son.

“No! I go like dis!” Jack screamed and stomped his little foot as I tried to pull his Superman t-shirt over his head.

God, the Terrible Twos sucked! Where had my little baby gone and who was this demon spawn that had taken his place?

“Mom! I’m going to be late for school!” Langdon yelled to me from downstairs.

Since when was he so eager to get to school? I wondered about it for a moment before remembering that his class had a pizza party planned that day.

“I’m coming, sweetheart! Just go and wait in the car!” I yelled back as I finally got the shirt over a protesting Jack’s head.

Luckily, Jack was fond of his Minions hoodie and slipped it on without fuss. The same went for his matching sneakers. Once these two items were on his person, he suddenly seemed to remember that he was upset that I had forced him to put clothes on in the first place and he once again started screaming.

Shaking my head in frustration, I picked him up and headed downstairs. I stopped by the table by the front door to grab my purse and songbook before locking up the house.

On the drive to Langdon’s school, I decided to share our afternoon plans with Langdon.

“Mr. Man, do you want to guess where we’re going this afternoon?” I asked with a motherly smirk as I glanced at him in the rearview mirror.

“Which Mr. Man are you talking to? Me or the screaming lunatic sitting next to me?” Langdon grumbled.

Jack was still throwing his temper tantrum in his car seat but I had developed parental deafness. I knew that once he got it out of his system, he would return to being my non-demonically possessed baby and would accept that he had to wear clothes in public, Until he got to that point, I kept my eye on him to make sure that he didn’t hurt himself but besides that, I tuned out the screaming.

“I’m talking to you...and if you want to be a grump, I guess I can leave you with Uncle Jagger while me and Jack go and meet Wolf Carter...”

Was it wrong that I took pleasure in screwing with my kids? Because I really did.

“What?!” Langdon started bouncing up and down in his seat as I pulled into the neighborhood where his private school was nestled. “It Langdon going to be there?”

“Of course Langdon’s going to be there...that is your name.”

Oh, I was having way too much fun with this.

“No, the cool Langdon!”

Now the kid was getting frustrated.

“What, you’re not cool?” I continued to play dumb.

“MOM! STOP GOOFING AROUND!” My son finally snapped and yelled at me in his excitement.

Poor Jack was briefly startled out of his hissy fit but he went right back to it when he realized that the yelling was coming from his big brother having a temper tantrum of his own.

“Okay, okay,” I finally gave in. “I don’t know if Langdon’s going to be there but he might be...I mean he works with his dad, right?”

A girl could dream, right?

“Why are you meeting Wolf today anyway?” Langdon asked as I pulled into the line of traffic in front of his school.

That was a really good question. I knew that it had something to do with an award but that is all that I knew. Why would a bounty hunter/reality star want to give an award to a pop singer?

“I’m getting some kind of an award that Wolf is giving out.” I shared all that I knew.

“Cool! I can’t wait to tell Jafar!”

Jafar Simmons was Langdon’s classmate and best friend. The boys were thick as thieves. The only real problem with the friendship was that Jafar’s mom, Deborah Simmons was a popular gossip blogger who tried to use my son as a source whenever she could. Suddenly, I imagined Deborah twisting me meeting Wolf Carter and his family into something that it wasn’t.

“Lang, please don’t tell Jafar that I’m meeting the Carters...you know how his momma is. She’d probably post online that I’m dating Langdon or Dawson.” I jokingly said it even though I was kind of serious. Deborah Simmons was a vulture.

“Well, you never date ANYONE and if you dated Langdon, I could go on bounties with him!” He got all excited again.

Just wonderful. I most certainly had NOT meant to start this conversation.

“Mr. Man, I’m not dating Langdon...just please, don’t tell Jafar.” I sighed.

He finally agreed as we pulled up in front of the entrance of the Pine Cobble School and he jumped out.


	8. Jamie-Lynn

Since Jack's preschool had a teacher workday, my (extremely excited) toddler had joined me on the thirty-minute private flight from the _Pittsfield Airport_ to _Logan International_ in Boston. From there we were driven to _Brighton Music Hall_ where my manager/producer/best friend, Jagger met us in the deserted parking lot. I was unstrapping Jack from his car seat as he approached the car.

“Okay, I have it worked out with the stage crew and security where you will make your entrance to the stage from out in the crowd. The _HBO_ producers just want to run through it a couple of times and then we need to hit the studio because I just finished arranging, _Hark! The Harold Angels Sing_ for the holiday album and, if I do say so myself...that shizz is crunk.” I hadn't even had time to get a word out before the slightly older man started babbling. The blue-eyed, curly haired blond (who always reminded me of a perfect mixture of Frank Sinatra and Justin Timberlake...if Justin's bleach blond hair had ever actually been natural.) was a famous motor-mouth. All you had to do was give him a topic and listen to him go.

I laughed. “Hey there, Jagger. Haven't seen you since the tour started, good to see you...and for the love of my Catholic soul, please do not use the words “shizz” or “crunk” when referring to a song about the birth of Christ.” I requested as I lifted Jack out of his car seat.

“Oh, yeah, hi,” Jagger said a little sheepishly.

Ah, there was the sweet, southern boy that I knew was hiding behind the wannabe thug. I had known Jagger Thomas since before I was famous. In fact, I had known him my whole life. Our moms had grown up together in Georgia and even though my mom moved to New England after college, they had stayed close right up until my mom's death. Jagger was five years older but we had grown close as kids. The Thomas family spent every summer with mine in the Berkshires. When Jagger was eleven, he had landed a role on a popular afternoon children's variety show. When the show ended two years later, he had ended up as a member of the popular boyband, BLAZE. It was watching Jagger do his thing in Blaze that had pushed me towards the stage myself. When he was twenty and BLAZE broke up (as all boybands do), Jagger had left the spotlight to focus on working behind the scenes. He had been managing my career and producing my albums even since I had returned to the spotlight after Langdon was born.

Jagger had actually saved my career after I had Langdon. I refused to go public about my rape and in all court documents, I was identified as Jillian Doe so there was no paper trail for the press to follow. This led to a scandal of epic proportions. A sixteen-year-old pregnant pop star was NOT what the public wanted...or paid to see. Jagger had worked with my public relations team and spun a story of me making a mistake with my first love who left me high and dry when he found out I was pregnant. In the blink of an eye, I went from harlot to victim. This was right around the same time that I started ignoring everything the press and public believed about me...they were obviously fickle and would clearly believe anything.

“Hey, Jack! Do you have a hug for your Uncle Jagger?” Jagger held out his hands for his godson. Jagger was a doting godfather to both of my boys.

“Jaguar!” Jack pretty much jumped into his arms because he hadn't seen him in a few months and was excited to see him

“Alright, little dude, we have really gotta work on you saying my name correctly.” Jagger laughed.

“Jag, before we get started, can we talk?” I asked. I wanted to pick his brain about Wolf Carter.

Jagger knew me well enough to know that something was on my mind so, still carrying Jack, he led me into the music hall and backstage to the dressing room. Taking Jack's diaper bag from me, he set my son on the couch and dug out his _LeapPad_ tablet. Once my boy was settled, playing a _Paw Patrol_ learning game, Jagger turned his attention back to me.

“Okay, chicka, something's wrong. Tell me what's up.” He took a seat on the makeup vanity's counter.

“Have you ever heard of Wolf Carter?” I asked as I slowly paced back and forth in front of him.

Jagger gave me a weird look before nodding and replying, “Yeah...he's the bounty hunter that caught Loveitt.”

I stopped pacing so suddenly that I almost fell over. “Seriously?”

When Alexander Levitt originally went on the run, I hadn't paid too much attention. I was living with my older brother, Ricky, in Weathertree, New York so a rapist in the Berkshires wasn't something that I had wanted to think about after what had happened to me. When I was attacked, I didn't see my assailant's face. I didn't know that Loveitt was my rapist until after he was already back in police custody.

“You didn't know that? Wolf and his sons, Dawson and Langdon, tracked Loveitt down when he ran to Canada. I'm pretty sure they got their reality show because of that bust.” Jagger explained.

“No. I didn't know that.” I shook my head. “I was asking about him because I'm meeting with him and his family later. He's giving me some kind of award...I just don't know what for.”

“I wouldn't worry about it.” Jagger waved his hand dismissively. “From what I hear, Wolf and his family are good people...if not a little out there. His daughter Lacey ain't bad lookin' either.” He smirked.

I simply rolled my eyes at him. Maybe if he didn't work my nerves too much during rehearsal, I'd be a nice friend and slip Lacey his phone number.

 

 

_**[MY WEBSITE](http://www.badwolf1988.wixsite.com/badwolf1988) ** _


	9. Langdon

I wasn't pacing like a teenage girl waiting for her prom date...I wasn't...no matter what Dawson said. I was just walking back and forth in front of the large window in the front office and glancing out the glass from time-to-time. After about half an hour, Dad told me to sit down before he sat me down.

Finally, the front door's bell chimed and in walked a goddess, accompanied by two pretty freakin' adorable little boys...the youngest of which was clinging to his big brother's leg and giggling. I couldn't help but chuckle. I had two daughters right around the same age.

The goddess walked up to me and gave me a small, shy smile. “Hey, my name's Jamie-Lynn Cortez. I'm looking for Bonnie Carter.”

It was kind of cute how she introduced herself like I wouldn't know who she was. She obviously didn't have a Hollywood ego. She was humble. This trait made her 100% sexier in my book.

I called into the back office to let Mom know that she was there before turning back to Jamie-Lynn, “She's in the back dealing with a client right now.” I explained. I was thankful that my voice actually worked.

“Oh, okay...you're Langdon, right?” She inquired politely.

Holy shit. She knows my name. “Yeah, that's me.” I gave her my most charming smile. It always seemed to work on female fans of the show so I was hoping it would also work on her. “And who are these guys?” I turned my attention to the boys. The oldest actually looked a bit star struck.

“The monkey climbing up his brother is Jack.” She laughed a bit at her youngest's antics...and was it just me, or was she blushing a little?

“Well, hello there, Jack.” I playfully shook the hand of the grinning toddler, who, by this point, was sitting on the shoulders of his older brother. The kid really was a monkey. My oldest daughter, Desi, had been the same way at his age.

“Hi!” Jack giggled while holding on to his brother's head to keep from falling.

“The one who seems to have lost his ability to speak also happens to be named Langdon.” Jamie-Lynn waved her hand in front of the boy's face.

“Nice to meet you, buddy. Love your name.” I nodded and smiled at him.

Little Langdon didn't say a word at first. He just stood there, opening and closing his mouth like a fish.

Jamie-Lynn full on belly laughed this time and it was probably one of the most beautiful sounds that I had ever heard in my life. “Langdon, sweetheart, when your mouth opens, words are supposed to come out.” She playfully informed her son.

It took a mischievous pop to the head from the little brother on his shoulders before the little boy snapped out of it and regained his ability to speak. “Dude, you are like my hero! I LOVE your show! I totally want to be a bounty hunter when I grow up!” Little Langdon started talking a mile a minute.

So, Jamie-Lynn let her kid watch the show. That explained how she knew who I was. “It's a fun job, but it's also a lot of hard work,” I told the kid honestly.

“I don't mind hard work.” Little Langdon shook his head.

Jamie-Lynn snorted, “I'll remind you of that the next time you don't want to clean your room.”

At that moment, Mom finally emerged from the back office. “You must be Jamie-Lynn?” She smiled and approached the younger woman with her hand outstretched. “I'm Bonnie Carter.”

“Yes, it's great to meet you, Mrs. Carter.”

“Girl, please,” Mom waved her hand with a chuckle. “It's Bonnie.”

“Why don't I take the boys outside to play so you two can talk?” I suggested. From the big grin on his face, I could tell that Little Langdon had no problem with this suggestion.

“Oh, you don't have to.” Jamie-Lynn once again blushed. “They can stay with me.”

“It's not a problem, hon. I have two of my own.” I winked at her and she blushed even redder. Ha! I still had it!

 

**_[MY WEBSITE](http://www.badwolfrose.com) _ **


	10. Jamie-Lynn

I was feeling a bit bummed out. Not only was Langdon Carter gorgeous but he was great with kids and apparently attached. _I have two of my own._ Damn it! I shook my head to clear my thoughts. I was now standing outside Bonnie's office and she was talking to me. It would probably be polite to listen.

“It's nice of you to let Langdon hang out with your boys. Since his divorce, my former daughter-in-law has been a real witch about giving him time with his daughters. Plus, my boy has a bit of a crush on you.”

Jackpot! He's divorced and he likes me! “It's no problem.” I laughed as we walked into her office where Wolf Carter himself was seated. “My oldest is a big fan of the show. He's in heaven right now.”

Wolf, an intimidating looking man who wouldn't have been out of place on a Marine Corps bases, got to his feet and held out his hand. “You must be Jamie-Lynn. It's an honor to meet a woman such as yourself.”

I blushed, “Thank you, it's an honor to meet you as well but I have to admit that I'm confused by this award. I don't even know what it's for, yet alone who nominated me.”

Wolf held out one of the green leather chairs that sat in front of the desk and nodded for me to take a seat before taking a seat next to me.

Bonnie took a seat behind the desk and explained, “Wolf's award is given to Berkshire County residents who have overcome hardships to make a difference in the lives of others.”

I really didn't like where this was going... How could they have possibly found out? I wasn't identified in any public records by my real name. I was Mary Doe in all police and court documents. Someone close to me had to have talked. I really hoped my idiot father wasn't flapping his gums again. This was why we barely spoke.

“You were nominated by your niece, Claire.” Bonnie continued. “For overcoming what Loveitt did to you.” She said delicately. “and working to help other teen mothers.”

Oh, if I didn't love the girl so much I would have wrung Claire's neck for this one. “While I think this award is wonderful and I'm beyond honored that you would give it to me, I can't accept it,” I said as politely as I could.

“Why not?” Wolf asked in surprise.

“Look,” I ran a hand through my hair as I felt my anxiety building. “I've managed to keep what happened to me a secret for over ten years. My son dosesn't know how he was conceived and that's the way I want it to stay. I don't want him growing up feeling guilty for existing. I'm thankful to you and your family for catching Loveitt but I can't accept this award.” I said again but my voice had taken on that breathless tone that came along with one of my anxiety attacks.

Bonnie must have noticed my distress because she quickly got to her feet and came to my side, “Deep breaths, honey.” She rubbed my shoulder. “No one here would ever force you to do or admit anything you didn't want to. This is a safe place.”

How did Bonnie know just what to say to help me calm down? My own family, minus my older brother, Ricky, couldn't (and wouldn't) deal with my attacks. They thought that after over ten years I should be over what happened to me. Ricky was the only one who had ever even attempted to help me cope but that man had issues all his own.

After a few minutes, I was able to get my breathing under control and I offered Bonnie a weak smile. “Thank you,” I told her sincerely. She just offered me a motherly smile in return.

“So,” Wolf clapped his hands together. “How about we still give you the award but, for your comfort and privacy, we just leave out the part about Loveitt?”

“What do you mean?” He had my attention again.

“What if we gave it to you for overcoming teenage motherhood to help other teen moms?” He suggested. “No one said that we had to mention how you got pregnant.”

“That secret will stay with us,” Bonnie assured me firmly and I actually believed her.

“I would be honored to accept.” I nodded with a smile.

I was really starting to like the Carter family. They seemed like good, genuine people. When you came from a family as screwed up as mine, you appreciated people like the Carters so much more than people who came from functioning families.

 

 

**_[MY WEBSITE](http://www.badwolfrose.com) _ **

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> After July 15th, 2017, this story will only be found under my other S/N, @chloesullivan1988. That is where all of my original stories will be posted from now on.


	11. Langdon

While Jamie-Lynn was inside, I took the boys outside to the parking lot. The moment Little Langdon saw one of the SUV's we used while out on bounties, he got hilariously excited.

“Can we go inside?” He was almost jumping up and down on his Nike-clad feet. “Pretty please?”

“Here,” I set Jack down on his feet. “Hold your brother's hand for a minute while I check to make sure it's safe for you boys to go inside.” The last thing I needed was for Jamie-Lynn to come out and find that I'd let one of her kids get their little hands on a mace gun or one of our rarely used tasers. Knowing this was the vehicle that I normally drove, with Dawson and Lacey as passengers, I did a quick scan of all the usual hiding places for gear. I looked in the glove compartment, the center console, under seats and in the hatch. All I found were a couple of radios and Dawson's bulletproof vest. All of which I needed to sneak inside and put away in the small gear closest before Mom noticed that they were missing. Dawson's vest alone was worth over three hundred dollars. Mom would wring my older brother's neck if she discovered he had left it in the SUV, a perfect target for thieves.

The next half an hour was spent patiently answering all of Little Langdon's seemingly never-ending questions.

“What are these things?” He pointed at the cameras rigged above the dashboard.

“Cameras,” I answered. “Those are what take the footage of us when we're driving for the show.” I hated the damn things. They gave me an extra blind spot while I was driving.

Jack was far easier to amuse. He sat on my lap in the passenger seat pretending to drive... and occasionally honking the horn when I wasn't paying close enough attention to stop him. He had nearly given more than one pedestrian walking past on Cherry Street a heart attack. Unluckily for me, and Jamie-Lynn's blood pressure, the final time he honked the horn was just as she was walking out of the office. She jumped a foot in the air and clutched at her chest for a moment before she composed herself.

“MOM! WE'RE IN HERE!” Little Langdon poked his head out of the passenger side window and hollered to get his mother's attention.

Shaking her head and laughing, Jamie-Lynn made her way over. When she got to the SUV, she leaned in the passenger side window. “Hey, boys,” she smiled.

“Hey, we were just chatting,” I smiled back.

“And driving?” she giggled as Jack once again grabbed the steering wheel and started making vroom-vroom noises.

“That too,” I nodded and laughed. “You getting ready to head out?” I asked even though I certainly had no desire to part from her company.

“Yeah,” she said as she stepped back and opened the passenger side door so Little Langdon could hop out. “I have to get Thing 1 and Thing 2 some dinner.”

With Jack in my arms, I carefully got out of the driver's seat and walked around the front of the SUV until I was standing in front of her. It was now or never I figured. I was never going to get a chance if I was too afraid to take one. “How about I take the three of you out to eat? My treat.”

Almost soon as I said it, that cute little blush once again colored her cheeks. I watched as she seemed to fight some internal battle with herself. Given her history, I couldn't blame her for being cautious. Finally, she turned a questioning gaze on Little Langdon. “What do you want to do?” She left the decision in her son's hands.

“If you don't say yes, you're no longer my mother,” he said with a dead serious look on his face.

Jamie-Lynn laughed before turning her dimpled smile on me once more. “Okay, Langdon, dinner it is.”

There is a God, there is a God, there is a God... and He likes me!

 

 

_**[MY WEBSITE](http://www.badwolfrose.com) ** _

 


	12. Langdon

I took Jamie-Lynn and the boys to the same 50's themed diner that I always took my girls to when they were with me. It sat directly next to the town's only bowling alley. After a dinner of burgers and milkshakes, I had somehow convinced Jamie-Lynn to let me take her and the boys for a game in bowling ally's new blacklight lanes.

I paid for two lanes and Jamie-Lynn and I played on while the boys played on the other.

“So, what's it like being a world-famous pop star?” I asked from the cold plastic chair where I was watching her take her turn. From the corner of my eye, I could see Little Langdon and Jack rolling their balls at the same time causing them to crash into each other halfway up the lane. Yeah, this was why I always paid for two lanes. Experience with my girls had taught me a lot.

“I wouldn't say world famous,” she giggled in embarrassment. “But it's good I guess...once you get the hang of things and learn not take what people say and think personally.” She took her second roll. “What's it like being a world famous bounty hunter?” She stood aside so I could take my turn but she stayed on her feet so we could continue talking.

“Famous?” I snorted as I grabbed my ball. “Not really. I'm just the dude who works with the famous bounty hunter.” I rolled the ball, not really caring to aim it. “But I like my job and my girls are still young enough that they think I'm some kind of superhero.

“How old are your daughters?” She picked up the ball from the belt. “You got a strike by the way,” she nodded towards the electronic scoreboard.

I honestly had not noticed but I took a step back to get out of her way. “Desi's eleven and Catee's four,” I answered with a laugh as I watched Jack stumble backward and land on his butt after rolling his ball.

“How often do you see them – if you don't mind my asking?” I was surprised when she didn't move out of my personal space when it was again my turn.

“Not as often as I'd like,” I admitted. “I get them for two weekends a month and certain holidays.”

Jamie-Lynn simply nodded and smiled.

“Why'd you agree to come out with me tonight?” I inquired curiously, our game now pretty much forgotten.

“I like you,” she shrugged. “And you're Langdon's hero.” She was nervous and it was adorable.

I smirked and took a step closer. “Do you like me enough to go on a real grown-ups only date with me?”

Her smile grew wider and I couldn't see it in the purple glow of the blacklights but I was positive that she was blushing. “I'd love too.” She nodded.

“Score one for mom!” Little Langdon and Jack had finished their game and appeared at our sides.

“I take it you don't mind me dating your mom?” I gave the little boy a friendly smile.

“Hell no!” Little Langdon shook his head as his mother gasped in shock.

“Hell no! Hell no! Hell no!” Jack started dancing around, repeating his brother.

Poor Jamie-Lynn. She looked mortified.

 

 

_**[MY WEBSITE](http://www.badwolfrose.com) ** _

 


	13. Jamie-Lynn

I gave Langdon my number before we parted ways for the night and it wasn't even five minutes after I walked in my front door that my cell phone started ringing. I was busy trying to get Jack into his pajamas so I didn't look at the caller ID before I answered it.

“Would you look at that, the number's real,” Langdon laughed on the other end of the line.

“Why wouldn't it be?” I asked as I finally managed to wrestle my foul-mouthed toddler into the top half of his Jake and the Neverland Pirates pajamas. He really was not a fan of clothes as of late.

“Usually when a woman as beautiful as you gives her number to a dude like me, it's a fake,” Langdon joked as I released Jack so he could run off a little more energy before bedtime. “I was actually curious when I could get that date you promised me, princess?”

While Langdon had been distracting me by turning my heart to mush with his sweet words, Jack had been hiding behind the bucket chair taking his clothes (pull-up included) off.

“I'm nakie!” The two-year-old jumped into the center of the room with his arms raised above his head. He gave his naked tush a shake before giggling and running off... no doubt to hide so that I couldn't redress him.

“Uh... Jamie-Lynn?” Langdon sounded greatly amused. “Was that Jack yelling that he was naked?”

I sighed, “yep. On top of having the mouth of a sailor on shore leave, my son is now a nudist. I'm one proud mama,” I told him dryly.

Langdon laughed, “it's just a phase some kids go through. I had a hell of a time keeping clothes on Desi when she was Jack's age,” he shared.

He always seemed to speak of his little girls with such love and affection. I couldn't help but wonder why he said he didn't spend as much time with them as he would have liked. I was curious how a man like him could be divorced in the first place.

“So, about that date, princess?”

“Oh.” I shook my head to clear my thoughts. “I have a show on Saturday. I know it wouldn't count as a date but do you want to come? You could bring your family and maybe we could go on a real date on Sunday?”

“That sounds great.” I could hear the smile in his voice. “Do you mind my girls coming to the show? I have them this weekend.”

“Of course they can come,” I readily agreed. “You've met my little terrors, it's only fair that I get to meet yours,” I joked as one of the said terrors came (literally) streaking back into the room. We were making progress on the whole nakedness thing... now he was wearing his Batman cape at least.

“I'll let you get back to those terrors of yours. See ya Saturday, princess.”

As I hung up the phone, I playfully eyed my youngest child. “Really, Mr. Man? I love the cape. You're totally going to start a new trend amongst the other superheroes with your little tush on display like that.”

Not yet old enough to fully comprehend what I was saying, Jack simply giggled at me.

 

 

_**[MY WEBSITE](http://www.badwolfrose.com) ** _

 


End file.
